Joe Biden has agreed to go head-to-head with President Donald Trump in three debates, The Washington Post reports.
On Monday, Joe Biden’s campaign committed to three debates scheduled for Sept. 29, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22, in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
The newspaper obtained the letter written by Biden’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon. The letter states Biden will participate in the debates and that Biden's running mate will participate in the vice-presidential debate scheduled for Oct. 7.
“Joe Biden looks forward to facing Donald Trump in a multi-debate series that the American people have come to expect from their leaders; we hope that President Trump would not break that tradition or make excuses for a refusal to participate,” O’Malley Dillon wrote, indicating that Trump has not confirmed whether he will participate in the debates.
Trump previously hinted he may opt out of participating in debates claiming media bias against him. But several days ago, Trump aides called for more debates and sooner.
“We want fair debates. We want them sooner, and we want a bigger schedule,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said last week. “We also don’t want them up against football games competing for viewers. As many Americans as possible need to see the stark differences between the accomplishments and leadership of President Trump and the failed record and sleepiness of Joe Biden.”
The Trump campaign wanted the Oct. 15 and 22 debates moved because they would compete with a Thursday night NFL broadcast.
Last week, chairman of the debate commission Frank Fahrenkopf said if the campaigns wanted to hold a fourth debate, the commission would work to make it happen, the newspaper reports.
Biden’s campaign has agreed to three debates and said it wants them to be held in a traditional format, but with social distancing measures and other coronavirus precautions in place.
“Nothing should prevent the conduct of debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on these dates; again, we do not want to provide President Trump with any excuses for not debating,” O’Malley Dillon wrote.
Biden’s team also is requesting that one of the debates follow a town hall style format, which allows voters to ask their questions directly to the candidates.
“During his primary campaign, Vice President Biden welcomed direct questions from uncommitted voters on a frequent basis, and we think it is time that President Trump faced such questioning himself,” she wrote. “We know that voters have many, many questions for the president.”
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.